Garden Parkway sends jobs to South Carolina, increases I-85 congestion

• Turnpike Authority documents show it transfers jobs to South Carolina
• Turnpike Authority documents show it increases congestion on I-85
  - “Its purpose is not to alleviate congestion on I-85.”
  (Jennifer Harris, engineer, NC Turnpike Authority, July 1, 2009)

Officials at the North Carolina Turnpike Authority are hiding facts

• Officials called for changing the Garden Parkway jobs figures to help sell the project

Reproduced permission of Charlotte Observer

I don’t think there would be much support for a project in NC that appears to benefit SC the most and takes away growth from the I-85 corridor on the order of 10- 15 percent.”     Jill Gurak, chief project engineer, to Turnpike Authority (May 13, 2010)

• Officials deliberately presented false information on Union County’s sister toll road, the Monroe Bypass
• Promoters hired an economist who promised gobs of jobs, just like he did for the Whitewater Center and NASCAR Hall of Fame - Letter to Editor
  

What is the Toll Road to Nowhere? The proposed Garden Parkway is a 21.9 mile, $1 billion toll road 2 lane country road for 5.9 miles between I-85 west of Gastonia to US 321 south of Gastonia 4 lanes from US 321 to I-485 west of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport Tolls between $3.25 and $5.50 for full length

Reproduced permission of Charlotte Observer

Unpopular with Voters

• 64% of Gaston County voters opposed to Garden Parkway (Civitas Institute, May 2010)
• Over 7,000 residents signed petition in opposition even though only 348 homes and 37 business will be displaced
• Gazette poll found 77 % opposed (March 2011)

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North Carolina Taxpayer pays $1.4 billion and guarantees tolls

• Tolls not enough to pay the project price
• Taxpayers to pay $1.4 billion ($35 million gap funding for 40 years)
• North Carolina taxpayers must guarantee all toll revenues
  - Greenville, South Carolina’s Southern Connector toll road is bankrupt

State and Gaston County have more pressing transportation problems

• I-85 congestion due to lane narrowing at Belmont interchanges
  - The westbound ‘squeeze’ from 4 to 3 lanes at Belmont Abby is arguably the most dangerous site in the county, yet is not mentioned in the [Thoroughfare] Plan.” (John Locke Foundation Traffic Congestion in North Carolina, March 2007)
  - Installing High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes to relieve westbound I-85 congestion at Belmont interchanges would be fully self-funding (Charlotte Region Fast Lanes Study, July 2009)
  - Dangerously congested I-85 – US 321 interchange
• Crumbling US 74 bridge over Catawba River

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Send an Email to your elected officials and tell them you are opposed to the billion dollar toll road to nowhere because it sends jobs to South Carolina and will increase traffic in North Carolina.

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